Disneyland, Nineteen Fittys

There's no "Main Street" like Disneyland's Main Street U.S.A. in the 1950's! I never seem to tire of looking at photos like this. Note the signs on the lamp posts heralding the opening of the "Alice in Wonderland" attraction, the "Columbia", and the "Grand Canyon Diorama". You can just see the banner stretched across Main Street, also advertising the diorama.


Here's a fuzzy photo taken from the Pirate Ship's poop deck (heh heh!), looking down into Storybook Land. It looks like the land of storybooks is still pretty rough, perhaps not even operating yet...this might even be pre-Skyway. The two boats that are visible are clearly not ferrying guests through magical miniature environments.

Expo '67

When it comes to World's Fairs and Expos, people readily recall the '64/'65 New York fair and the 1962 "Century 21" Expo in Seattle. But Montreal's "Expo '67" was considered the most successful World's Fair of the 20th Century, with over 50 million visitors. It also set a record for single-day attendance, with over 500,000 people showing up on the third day!


Originally this fair was supposed to be held in Moscow to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Russian Revolution. Those fun plans fell through (!), and the fair was given to Montreal. The big geodesic dome is the United States Pavilion, and to the right (the building with the multiple triangles) is the "Man and His Planet" and "Space Man and Life" pavilions.

Universal Studios, April 1972

Here are a bunch of slides from Universal Studios, courtesy of the Graziano family! I think my own family went there around this same time, maybe a year or two earlier. I particularly remember throwing foam-rubber boulders around, climbing on a giant telephone, seeing mummies from an "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" episode, and seeing H.R. Puff'nstuff in one of the displays.

I heard that the people who lived in this house had a relative who settled in a cabin on Tom Sawyer Island at Disneyland. Nobody knows what happened to him! I get the feeling that forced perspective in being used here, what do you think? Something tells me that if you stood next to that surrey, you'd look like a giant. A nice giant, don't get me wrong!


From fire to a flash flood, you can see that there is a terrible downpour in this picturesque town (somewhere south of the border), and that a torrent of water is rushing down the street, straight at us! Many people remember the tree that slowly falls over, and every smarty-pants kid turned around to see it slowly right itself as the tram continued onward.


I like this old beat-up custodial truck, parked in front of a facade that looks like it belongs in a charming English village.


This fearsome gorilla applied for a job at the Jungle Cruise, but he lost out to another ape (a case of blatant nepotism, but that's another story). Fortunately, Universal was hiring. Here he is, hanging from a vine just like real gorillas do all the time. Please tell me he was not supposed to be King Kong! I don't remember him, though I think he might have shown up on a Viewmaster reel.


And finally, here's a stately plantation house that I have no doubt was used in many talkies. At first I thought it might be "Tara" from "Gone With the Wind", but then I realized that I was delirious and that it couldn't be. Wrong studio! Sets like these are so convincing, and yet the building itself was probably a hollow shell.


Thanks once again to the Grazianos for sharing these photos!

New York World's Fair, 1964

I never get tired of photos showing the fabulous New York World's Fair of 1964!

There's just something wonderful about this picture, with the huge T. Rex looming over unconcerned crowds. Behind him you can just see a sliver of the Brontosaurus as well (this was pre-Apatosaurus!), the mascot of Sinclair Oil. "Sinclair Dinoland" contained nine life-sized models of familiar dinos such as Stegosaurus, Triceratops, and Ankylosaurus (as well as a few less-familiar thunder lizards).

To the right, two towers from the New York pavilion can be seen...these still stand today. Remember them from "Men in Black"?


U.S. Royal Tires giant tire/ferris wheel was one of the many icons of the Fair. "Visitors soar 80 feet in the air around a giant auto tire for a spectacular view of the Fair. Twenty-four gondolas seating four people each move around the circumference of the wheel. The tire, floodlighted at night, stands in a landscaped area."

Hey now! This tire still stands, although it is essentially just a road sign along a Detroit, Michigan Interstate highway, since the ferris wheel ride was removed.

Mystery Park, 1965

I found a group of slides from one family, they visited a lot of Southern California attractions including Disneyland and Knott's. But this little park is a mystery to me! It certainly looks like Southern California, in fact another photo (not posted) shows what looks like the ocean in the distance.


The rides are mostly "off the shelf" carnival rides, such as the tilt-a-whirl and little car and boat rides that go around in circles. This miniature train fascinated me due to its resemblance to Disneyland's "Viewliner". Does anybody know anything about the "South Shore Pacific" railroad?? In the first photo, that tunnel looks exactly like the antique papier-maché tunnels they used to make for little toy railroads.


I'm not sure that lavender would be my first choice of colors for a li'l train, but who am I to judge! This small amusement park probably didn't last very long, but I'm sure glad I have some photos of it. I'll share a few more sometime in the future.

More Knott's Berry Farm, 1960's

Time for more Knott's Berry Farm fun, this time from the 1960's. I love this busy street scene...this is one lively ghost town! The eucalyptus trees surrounding the park are probably the remains of old wind-breaks from the farms that used to be on this land. Next to the old wagon, an Indian chief appears to be waving to a small child. I like the sign informing the public that there was a "photo spot" set up just for them.


Next is an exterior of the Bird Cage Theater, circa 1963. Mom, pop, and Aunt Marge pose in front of the theater, which showed vaudeville-type performances for many years. I haven't been to Knott's for so many years, does the Bird Cage Theater still stand? The bulldozers have been busy.


I have no idea why they made such a creepy sign for the entrance, doesn't this top-hatted figure look like he should be working with Dr. Caligari? He probably represented the classic villain from melodramas like you'd see in the good old days.

Knott's Berry Farm

It's been far too long since we've visited Knott's Berry Farm! I found a couple of very early "souvenir" slides that I thought were interesting enough to share. My guess is that these are from around 1950.

First we get a look at the saloon in the old ghost town. Don't worry, that's not a ghost tending the bar! He does kind of give me the willies, though. I'm not sure you could order anything stronger than boysenberry punch at this saloon...those liquor bottles in the back look pretty dusty. Apparently all of the signs over the bar were written by Spanky and the other members of "Our Gang" (except that nasty "no Injins" one).


Now let's take a look in the General Store. Anything you could possibly need is for sale in this cluttered little store! It sure looks authentic to me, and demonstrates the level of detail that was lavished on some of the environments at Knott's. You name it, they've got it. There's a pot-bellied stove, a coffee grinder, shovels, pails, pipes for smoking, a left-handed crumulator, and probably even a kitchen sink.

Jungleland, Thousand Oaks California

Today kicks off a week away from Disneyland. For those of you only interested in Disneyland...well, I guess you should come back and visit next Monday. We'll visit a few familiar places, as well as some previously unexplored locations. Like Jungleland!

In the early 1900's Thousand Oaks consisted of chicken ranches, dairy farms, and apricot orchards, as well as acres of rolling, oak-covered hills. In 1926, a man named Louis Goebel opened his Lion Farm, which became a well-known tourist attraction in 1929. I believe that Leo the Lion (MGM's roaring mascot) lived in splendor at Goebel's Lion Farm! Hundreds of movies were filmed in Thousand Oaks back in those days, as well.

Here's a great photo showing one of the many fierce lions in action. Nice kitty! Jungleland gained a dash of infamy when Jayne Mansfield's son Zandor was mauled by a "tame" lion in 1966. Though critically injured, he eventually made a full recovery.


I visited Jungleland as a child, and have a few vague memories of the place, such as the drinking fountains that looked like lions and hippos with open mouths. I also recall sitting in these very same bleachers. Mom appears to have purchased a stuffed vinyl monkey toy for her little boy!


"Tamba" was the stage name for a chimp named Peggy. She starred with Johnny Weismuller in a number of "Jungle Jim" adventures...in one review for an installment titled "Killer Ape", it was noted that "As usual, many of the film's best scenes go to Tamba the Chimp, who gets even more screen time than leading lady Carol Thurston"! Too bad we can't see this great star in this photo.


And lastly, here is an example of the kind of thrilling rides that you could experience at Jungleland! I have a vintage postcard showing a train ride (a rather large miniature railroad, akin to Disneyland's), and can find no other mention of it online. I guess there was some kind of small "sky ride" as well? Jungleland closed in 1969, supposedly it was the victim of too much competition from other tourist attractions.


My family moved back to California n 1976 (after a few years in Pennsylvania), and Thousand Oaks was where we made our new home. For many years you could look down from the 101 freeway and see the empty animal enclosures (not to mention a nearby camel farm!). Eventually the remains of Jungleland were torn down and replaced by the city's Civic Arts Plaza.

Sunday Snaps

Disneyland is not just for kids! In these photos from 1969, we see this nice lady with the flaming red hair (also seen in photo #1 from yesterday) enjoying her day at the park. She obviously enjoyed the costumed characters! To the left is a cute image of Pluto hugging a little girl.


Now our heroine is hangin' with two of Disneyland's original pirates, Captain Hook and Mr. Smee.


And finally, here she is again at the entrance to Adventureland, surrounded by skulls, spears, fearce masks, and shields. I wonder what that large rectangular badge is that she is wearing? Cool late-60's shopping bag, too.

Saturday Post

Things have been busy lately, so I kind of feel like today's post is a weak one. But it's better than nothing!

First up is this photo from 1969 showing the exterior entrance to the Enchanted Tiki Room. I think I see the Barker Bird up there, although I thought he would have been gone by '69. Also note the travel posters in front, for United Airlines which still sponsored the attraction.


Here's a colorful view of a submarine as it emerges from the tunnels that contained Atlantis, the North Pole, and that crazy Sea Serpent. Presumably the photo was taken from the Peoplemover (?). The subs were 10 years old, and you can see that constant exposure to water has taken its toll.


Old Dobbin pulls a streetcar down Main Street in this 1964 image, past INA's "Carefree Corner". This ride never seems to attract many teenagers. Those darn kids are more interested in sex and violence! Have you heard those awful rock and roll bands that they listen to, like The Beatles?